I'm looking to get back on the water after owning a F-27 many years ago and since then crewing on other people's boats as the opportunity presented itself. I raced my F-27 for 4 years on Lake Michigan, Superior, and Huron. Crewed in Portland, ME; Seattle, WA; and ports between. Last week I came across a '80 Prindle 18 in a grove, off a country road in Wisconsin. It is pretty mossy and the lines are weathered, trailer was last registered in 1989, but I thumped the length of the hulls on both sides, top and bottom, and the fiberglass seems all good. The tramp is actually solid, but needs new lacing. I found a title application inside one of the ports and tried calling the owner. He called back a few days later to tell me he had sold the boat seven years ago. He would try to contact the new owner and see if he was interested in selling.

So if everything is there and all I need to do is replace the lines and clean up the boat, is this a boat I want to own? I'm 60 yrs and 220 lbs. I'm looking to sail solo for mostly for fun, but racing is not out of the question. How much more physical is sailing a beach cat going to be that working foredeck on a J-105 or a Q boat w/o lifelines? Is an 18 going to manageable by a single old guy learning the ropes? I understand it is going to be a wet ride and my foul weather gear is probably not up to the task, so I will probably want a wet or dry suit to extend the Wisconsin sailing season. One thing I appreciate from racing is you learn to sail in all conditions and that any day the wind blows is a good day!

Are there any considerations I should take into account? More appropriate boats? Any mods to make rigging or sailing easier and safer when going solo? I'm really on a shoestring budget and assuming I don't win the lottery, want something I could resale or part out without going too far out of pocket.



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sckerber

Corsair F27

Waukesha, WI
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All new standing and running rigging $300-$400

Check out the sails closely. If damaged or severely worn or a mouse has been living in them, the replacement cost gets higher than the boat. The P18 is a sturdy full fiberglass lamination that should not soften (no core). It has a lot of flotation and good on-water performance as long as you don't try to bury that fat hull cap. Cosmetically it can be brought back to like-new condition. Sheets and lines are a given replacement. Tramps can be re-sewn before the mesh actually fails. Wire can last a long time on fresh water, but watch the condition of swages and any fray should be cause for replacement. For a budget buy, this could end up looking great with some reconditioning work.

Sailing the P18 solo is easy. No Spin, or center boards, but you will need a righting bag or other righting system without crew.



Edited by tominpa on Jun 20, 2018 - 10:02 AM.

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Tom
NACRA 5.7 (1984 Sail 181)
Pennsylvania
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You'll have to hang on the trapeze wire. The boats you listed didn't require that afaict. It's easy to learn but it's quite different.

I'd suggest you try it once, as crew with someone else, maybe focus one outing with an experienced cat sailor on learning to get out there and get hooked. It's easy to learn if you focus, but you won't want to try learning it while you are trying to figure the boat out.

The P-18 DOES have a core and thumping on deck or sides is not the correct test. You need to press down with two hands, about 20-30 #'s to find soft spots. I would expect it to be solid as a Wisconsin boat. Pete

I will look it over more carefully and let you all know how it turns out. In the meantime there are some CRAW events coming up I will try to check out.

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sckerber

Corsair F27

Waukesha, WI
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Check out Craigslist.... tons of boats for sale

This one could be a lot of fun

https://brainerd.craigslist.org/boa/d/nacra-18sq-meter/6619786132.html

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John Schwartz
Ventura, CA
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